Gibbs' Birthday!
by Porcuswine
Summary: Guess who has a birthday at NCIS? And what will the team do to celebrate it?
1. Chapter 1

_This is just another idea a hit upon lately. I thought it would be fun to write it up :). Enjoy._

_Disclaimer: The show is not mine, the characters are not mine, the characters of the characters are not mine, their names are not mine... What the heck is mine then? Oh, the idea is mine.  
_

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Gibbs stood in the moving elevator, holding his usual cup of black coffee. He knew that his team, mostly Abby, would be quite excited today. And he also knew that they believed he had forgotten about the particular importance of that day.

But he hadn't forgot. It was rarely he actually forgot something. There were just things he didn't consider important enough to remind other people of them.

He stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the bullpen. He didn't notice anything different in there.

"Good morning, Gibbs," Ziva greeted him.

"Morning, Ziva."

"Hey, boss, how ya doin'?" Tony asked enthusiastically.

Gibbs smirked. "Good, DiNozzo."

"That's good." Tony nodded approvingly. "That's really good."

"You drunk or something, DiNozzo?"

"Nope."

"Hard to believe," Gibbs stated. "Any of you have any lead on the case?"

The team was silent.

"McGee?"

"No, not yet."

"Ziva?"

"Working on it."

Gibbs turned to Tony and smiled.

"DiNozzo?" he asked softly.

"Nah, you know, it's kinda hard to get any lead on them. These guys are like ghosts."

"You find something. After I go see Abby, I want some answers."

Gibbs headed towards the vending machine to get a Caf-POW! for Abby.

"He seems to be in a strangely good mood today," Tony pondered thoughtfully.

Ziva hissed at him from behind her desk.

"And you just have to make him mad. What the hell got into you?"

Tony just shrugged.

Gibbs was once again in the elevator. This time on his way down to Abby's lab. Abby's Labby.

He was slightly surprised. His team seemed to have completely forgotten. They were all so usual. No one even mentioned him having a birthday.

And the way Tony had behaved... Nah, Gibbs thought, that wasn't far from his usual manners.

The elevator stopped softly and dinged as the doors opened.

"Hey, Abs, whatcha got?" he greeted the Goth.

"Wow, Gibbs, it's really creepy how you always come in whenever I make a discovery." Abby was really excited. "Maybe there's really some sort of a mind-linking between us. When I'm about to discover something you hear it in your brain and just come here, and you hear it just in time to get here by the time of my discovery."

"Abby."

"What? Do I have chocolate in my teeth or something? 'Cause you know, I just ate some chocolate, but you already knew that because of that mind-linking between us and-"

"Abs, the discovery," Gibbs stopped her.

"Right." Abby turned her attention to her computer. "I pulled a partial fingerprint from one of the

slugs you recovered from the fourth house. I ran it through AFIS... and..." Abby hit some keys on her keyboard, "here's our killer."

Gibbs read the profile on the screen.

"That's a good work, Abs."

He started to leave.

"Gibbs." He suddenly heard his name and stopped. Maybe she did remember his birthday after all.

"Didn't you forget something?" Abby asked with a clue in her voice.

Gibbs looked down at his hand. He was still holding her Caf-POW!. He went back to where Abby stood, handed her the Caf-POW! and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"I didn't forget, Abs," he reminded her.

Abby smiled as he walked out of her lab. She wished so badly she could wish him happy birthday right now.

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_Okay, I know this is short, but I really hope you liked it. Please review me your thought and ideas about that story. I would really like to know where do you think this should go._


	2. Chapter 2

Now Gibbs was really surprised and even slightly happy. Abby always remembered his birthday. Every year, from the day they had met. But she seemed to have completely forgotten.

Seemed.

That was the word that made Gibbs suspicious. Maybe she really only seemed to have forgotten. What were they all planning?

The elevator stopped and opened. Gibbs approached the bullpen slowly which gave him time to observe his team. They were all doing their job.

"Hey, boss," Tony called.

Gibbs looked at his senior field agent with his steely blue eyes that could drill a hole through a ten-feet-thick metal wall.

"We found out who our bad guy is."

McGee engaged in their conversation. "His name is-"

"Jonathan Meyers."

"You guessed," Tony said.

"He graduated in-" McGee started.

"1983 from the University of Washington," Gibbs finished McGee's sentence.

"Yeah, and now he lives in-"

Gibbs cut of Tony's sentence too.

"Annandale, Virginia."

"He works in-" Ziva tried to form a sentence.

"In a company that makes office supplies. Go bring him in."

Whole team looked at Gibbs with their jaws dropped.

"You trying to catch flies?" Gibbs asked amusedly.

"That was really creepy, boss. What do you need us for when you already know everything?" Tony asked, his voice weak.

"I need you to keep me company," Gibbs joked. "I'm going for coffee."

And he was gone.

"That was really, really creepy," McGee commented, watching Gibbs disappear to his beloved elevator.

"It almost seems like Abby is the one who gets the facts, Gibbs the one who hears them andwe are just here for housekeeping."

"And to do paperwork."

"Yeah."

"Is he still here?" Abby yelled, running to the bullpen. The team looked at her in bewilderment.

"Is he still here?" Abby asked again, stopping abruptly in front of McGee's desk.

"No, he just left to get coffee," McGee told her, assuming she was talking about Gibbs.

Abby moaned and moved around a little, unsure of what to do next.

"Is something wrong, Abby?" Ziva asked with a hint of concern from behind her desk.

Abby looked at her, and Ziva saw disappointment and anxiety in her eyes.

"Yes, Ziva," she replied, then she turned back and talked to the whole room. "The man, who is supposed to be our killer died two weeks ago."

Gibbs was again in the elevator. How come he always ended up in there?

He thought that maybe he had been a bit impolite when he didn't let his team give him the answers, instead he gave them himself.

But yet again he figured they can live with that. If he wouldn't do that every once in a while, the job at NCIS would eventually get boring. Who could live without joking a bit?

Gibbs stepped out of the elevator and headed out towards the coffee stall where they sold his favourite coffee. Strong and black.

He paid for a big cup and sat on a bench nearby to drink the scalding dark liquid from the white cup he was holding and to gather his thoughts.

Now he was almost sure that his team had forgotten his birthday. Not that it made him sad. He wasn't even disappointed. It was just that they had remembered every year before.

But maybe they hadn't forgotten. Maybe they had just messed up the dates. Maybe they'll come to him tomorrow and wish him happy birthday. That would be twice as bad. To think that he has escaped it, and then get it the next day? No, Gibbs thought. That was not something he wanted.

He took a long sip of his bitter coffee. It always relaxed him. Then he stood up, still holding the half-empty cup and headed back to the office ready to face what ever waited for him inside.

He stepped back to the cold metal box and pushed the button. The elevator started to move.

He took another sip from his coffee and felt a sudden deja vu feeling.

It was just like it had been in the morning. He was standing in the elevator, wondering if his team remembered their boss's birthday, and slightly hoping they didn't.

He felt his mind spinning back to the times when his birthday had been a special day. To the happy days that were long gone.

He flipped the emergency switch, leaned against the cold metal wall and slid to the elevator floor.

He remembered Kelly being excited about her daddy's birthday every year. It had been more of a joy for her than Gibbs himself. But everything that made his daughter happy, made the father happy too.

He remembered Shannon smiling her gorgeous smile, a slight wind blowing her long red hair to her face. He had pushed that hair away gently, not wanting to miss a single moment when he could see her face, her smile.

"Happy birthday, Jethro," she whispered. Gibbs could still hear her voice as clearly as she had been beside him. He was relieved he still remembered the sound of it.

And then he had kissed her. He had never kissed anyone like he kissed Shannon. Not before her, not after her.

He had never met anyone like her again. She was special for him. He knew who she was. She was his soulmate. With Shannon, he had felt as a whole. Their love had been so perfect. They had a perfect life, a perfect daughter.

There were moments when Gibbs secretly wished he had died with them, and when he sat on the metal floor of the elevator, he knew it was one of those moments.

But at some aspect he was already dead. A part of him had really died with the only real family he had ever had.

Gibbs allowed himself a few moments for their memory and got up. He couldn't stay in that elevator forever. Finally, he realized, his team would call the security.

He flipped the emergency button back to normal and continued his ride upwards.

The elevator stopped and Gibbs stepped outside, forgetting his empty coffee cup onto the floor.

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_So, here's the new chapter. I know this one had a bt of a bitter tone to it, but the next one will be in considerably better mood. Big thanks to everyone who has reviewed that far. Please keep reviewing, it means me more than I could say. This story is still open for all of your ideas and suggestions, so please tell me where it should go. And if you want a surprise party, then where should it be? In the office, in Gibbs' house? What should they do there?_


	3. Chapter 3

The Squad Room was full of people. For some reason Abby, Jenny, Ducky and even Palmer were there. Gibbs made it to his desk and smiled. There was a cake on his desk.

McGee quickly pressed some buttons in his keyboard and a writing "Happy Birthday, Gibbs!" appeared on both of the two plasmas.

"And I was hoping you had all forgotten," Gibbs said with a smile.

Abby acted offended. "Gibbs! How could we ever forget?"

"It's not something to remember," Gibbs told them.

Jenny smiled at him understandingly. "You say that every year, Jethro."

"So do you," Gibbs fired back.

Other people in the room looked from Gibbs to Jenny and back to Gibbs, not knowing what to say. Abby was the first one to break the silence.

"So, are we gonna eat this cake or will we put it up for display?" she asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, let's eat the cake," Tony agreed.

They all looked at the birthday cake. Gibbs was the first one to realize what was missing.

"Anyone have a knife?" he asked, looking around, his eyes sliding over everyone in the room.

"I do," Ziva said, trying to be helpful.

Tony gave her a weird glance. "Um, Ziva," he started. "I think he wants a kitchen knife, not a knife that is meant for killing people."

Ziva opened her mouth to defend herself, but Gibbs cut her off before she could even start.

"No fighting on my birthday," he declared, giving the two of his agents warning glances.

"Well, Jethro, as you know, I have quite a big selection of edge tools down in autopsy," Ducky started helpfully. "But I doubt any of us would like to eat a cake cut with a scalpel."

"Ya think, Duck?" Gibbs asked amusedly.

"I think I have a knife in my office," Jenny interrupted, blushing slightly. Tony looked at her, slightly shocked and asked the first thing he could think of. "For what?"

"Ah, you know, Tony, in case things get a little out of control," Gibbs teased him.

Tony looked at Gibbs in now clear shock. Seeing Gibbs' smirk, Jenny laughed. Tony looked at her in confusion.

Jenny felt like she owed the man an explanation.

"It's still there since the time when Jethro and I..."

"Enough. Could you bring it down?" Gibbs interrupted. Jenny smiled at him with a little nod and left.

"Last time Gibbs and she... did what?" Tony asked Ziva in a low voice. Ziva's brown eyes caught his green in amusement.

"Ate cake," she said, trying to remove all other ideas that might have been getting started in his mind. "What were you thinking about, Tony, that would require the use of a knife?" she asked her partner teasingly.

Jenny rushed up the catwalk to her office. Yes, the knife had been in her office since she and Gibbs ate cake there on _her_ birthday.

She rushed past Cynthia, who was talking to the phone and straight to her cupboard. Jenny took the knife and headed out of the room, again passing Cynthia.

The secretary had now finished her phone call and looked up when Jenny rushed past her holding a knife with at least 8-inch-long blade. She looked startled.

"Wha... what is this for?" she asked hesitantly.

Jenny stopped and looked at the other woman, then at the knife in her hand. She smiled.

"To cut Gibbs' birthday cake," she assured her warmly.

Cynthia nodded with relief. Suddenly Jenny hit upon an idea.

"Cynthia, would you like to come down too?" she asked her invitingly.

Cynthia was surprised. "Oh, Director, I don't know," she hesitated. "Would Agent Gibbs appreciate it?"

"Of course he would." And Jenny continued her way down the catwalk, Cynthia following her.

The team looked up expectantly, amused smiles appearing on their faces as they saw her coming down the stairs with a knife in her hand and Cynthia following her in a rush.

"The Director's keeping pretty dangerous weapons in her office," Tony commented to Ziva quietly. Not quietly enough. Gibbs looked at him with his steely blue eyes. Ziva elbowed Tony in the ribs, making him squeal girlishly.

"I brought Cynthia with me," Jenny said unnecessarily, when she made it to the team, pointing at Cynthia with her big knife. Cynthia raised her eyebrows and glared at the knife. Jenny then realized what a stupid gesture she had made and started cutting the birthday cake. She did her best not to ruin the decorative chocolate thingys on it. The cake had definitely been chosen by Abby, since it had a chocolate spiderweb on it. Jenny put the pieces of cake on paper plates, which Abby had brought and they ate the cake with plastic spoons.

"Mmm, that's a really good cake," Palmer commented, breaking the silence, after swallowing his first spoonful.

They all looked at him.

"Inappropriate?" he asked hesitantly.

Ducky nodded at him. "Slightly, Mr. Palmer."

Abby looked at Ducky happily. "But Ducky, it is a good cake," she said, defending Palmer. "Right, Jimmy?"

Palmer looked startled of Abby asking his opinion, especially if he had just said it out.

"Uh, yeah. Good cake," he stuttered.

"Actually this reminds me of a time when I was still in Medical School," Ducky said, sticking up his spoon thoughtfully, reminding the incident. "A good friend of mine, Tom, had a birthday and we decided to make a surprise party, just like now." Ducky looked around in the room pointingly. Everyone listened to his story with interest. Even Gibbs didn't cut him off this time.

Ducky went on. "We played games there and when everyone was starting to get a bit tipsy, they brought out the cake. This young man was not so fortunate as Gibbs here. His cake had not been placed on the table, it was carried through half of the room." Ducky looked around as if checking that they are listening.

The sight in front of him seemed to please him, so he continued with his story. "Yes, and when the poor fellow was almost by the table his paths crossed accidentally with the one having a birthday. They collided and the cake was thrown towards the ceiling. But there were quite high ceilings in that room, so the cake fell back down and straight on Tom's head," Ducky said with a chuckle. They all burst out laughing.

"Just a bit tipsy?" Gibbs asked with a skeptical look, still smiling.

Ducky shrugged slightly. "Well, more than a_ bit_ tipsy," he corrected himself.

They laughed again.

"Who carried the cake?" Abby asked excitedly.

Ducky smiled apologetically. "Well, unfortunately I have to admit that that was me."

That caused another big wave of laughter.

Several hours later Gibbs was sitting behind his computer. He checked his email and laughed quietly when he saw a letter in there.

"Happy Birthday, Gibbs," was written in there. But what made Gibbs laugh was not the letter itself, but the name of the sender. Fornell. Fornell had sent him congratulations.

Gibbs decided to wrap it up for that evening, his team had already left, each had wished him happy birthday again when leaving.

He opened his desk drawer to get his ID. He reached for it... and stopped. A white envelope caught his attention. There was a writing on it in Jenny's elegant handwriting. "From all of us."

He opened the envelope and pulled out it's contents. There were two papers in it. One of them was a plane ticket to Mexico and back. The other seemed to be some sort of a note. Gibbs unfolded it and chuckled when he saw the writing.

There were four words in Tony's handwriting. "You better come back."

"I will, DiNozzo," he mumbled to himself. "I will."

And when he headed for the elevator, stepping into it for the last time this day, he felt a wave of happiness. He felt good that his team had remembered his birthday after all.

Again he thought of the family he had once had. The only one of his four wives that he still loved, and their daughter. He would love them both forever.

But even if his team was not a very common family, they were still his family. They were the best he could have and he was thankful.

The End

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_So, here's your happy ending :). And SherryGabs, part of your idea is in it, thank you. This is the last chapter, I hope you all enjoyed reading the story. Also, I would like to thank you all for the reviews, alerts and favorite stories. It means a world to me. And please review this chapter too. I would really like to know what you think of it. Did you like the ending? Please let me know what you liked or didn't like._

_Thank you all for reading!_


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